


The reason I stay

by joahdun



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-18 01:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17571878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joahdun/pseuds/joahdun
Summary: Two times in which Magnus and Jace realized why they stay.





	1. Magnus

**Author's Note:**

> I was hit by the sudden urge to write something fluffy, and I was this post where it was like, person 1 convinces person 2 to let them paint their nails, and then it just grew from there.
> 
> So here it is, and I hope you like it ahh
> 
> (The Clary and Jace one is next, and hopefully coming out sometime soon, maybe even today. I'm not entirely sure yet aha)

"I still have no clue how you convinced me to let you do this," Alec laughs as Magnus excitedly drags him through the loft in search for the dark blue bottle. 

"You know you can't resist my charm. Besides, this was bound to happen one day." He fingers finally close around the nail polish in his makeup drawer, and he pulls the two of them to sit on the bedroom floor. He's used to the strong smell that comes with opening the bottle but Alec isn't, and his nose scrunches up adorably when the fumes first hit him. 

The color is a deep blue, and Magnus has wanted to use it on his boyfriend for quite some time now. When Alec had commented on Magnus' newly painted red nails, he'd asked jokingly if the shadowhunter would like a matching pair. And then, after about three minutes of begging, Alec had given in, and was now craning his neck to see what Magnus was going to do. 

The navy blue is glossy and thick, and Magnus lets a drop fall off the brush before smoothing it out on the nail. Alec's palms are rough and familiar, blisters fresh from yesterday, when Jace and Alec had raced each other up a small cliff, the rest of the group cheering them on from underneath. His nails are somewhat uneven and there's dirt underneath some of his nails, but Magnus finds that it's rather nice, and his hands feel genuine and warm, and very, very real. 

For all the years he'd been alive, sometimes it was hard to pinpoint a certain time or location, and often times he'd wake up feeling like everything was a dream. For years, he couldn't bring himself to care about something that he would eventually have to watch slowly wither, and leave. Whenever he had fallen in love, he would find himself marvelling at the beauty of watching someone grow old, but could never truly enjoy it, always reminded that he wasn't growing old with them.

Some days, he would go up to the roof of his building, feet dangerously close to the edge and just peers down at all the life below. 

He was forever trapped in the body of a 20-something year old, always feeling like he was standing in a glass case in the middle of New York City, being right in the middle of everything, but never truly there. 

As time passed, he believed that for the rest of his years, he'd never truly belong, he'd never truly be a lover's equal in the way that everyone else but most downworlders got to experience. In the late eighteenth century, he remembered reading Jane Austen's novels and wondering if he'd ever have anything like that. Of course, he's long past reading romance novels when all they remind him of are things that he can't have, but as he considers where he his now, he thinks he might just pull out some buried copies and give them another try. 

Alec is different from all of his lovers, in a strange way. Each and every one of them will always have a part of his heart, of course, but Magnus had been drawn to them because of a close bond, a shared passion, or even the few who had been so mysterious, it had turned into a personal challenge to weasel his way into their lives, their trust, and eventually their love. 

Alec isn't any of those things, and Magnus still wonders why he had fallen for the Shadowhunter in the first place. The warlock had seen a thousand others like him before, arrogant and sticking to the law as if it were a lifeline, a warrior who was firm in his beliefs.  
But there was also something new, something he had never noticed in all of the rigid Shadowhunters he'd ever been around.  
It was a softness, a gentle side to him that proved that he was part mortal too. 

The more he looked at him, the facade of a tough Shadowhunter ebbed away, replaced with a teenage boy who had holes in his sweater, who bit his lips when he focused, and had a smile that quirked up unevenly. A boy who had dimples in his lower cheeks, who protected everyone he loved with everything inside of him. A boy who was just as lonely as he was, who lived in the shadows and whose heart had made him feel as if he was an outsider, living in his own bubble of silence while everyone around him screamed. 

Alec is different, because he is genuine. He hasn't got a defining talent, and he isn't anything in particular. He follows the rules, identical to the sea of others just like him. But he's honest, in everything he does. His intentions are true, and he's cool headed when people needs it the most. He's sarcastic and cold, but also kind and empathetic.

He lives under the facade of an emotionless soldier, and that's all that people have ever bothered to find out about him.

Magnus revels in the fact that he is something new for the Shadowhunter, and their relationship is a combined first time that makes him feel alive again, makes him feel almost normal. He teaches Alec how to be vulnerable, and stronger from the inside out. Alec teaches him how to be human, and how to be alive.

They complete each other.

Alec's pinky is trembling slightly without the support of the rest of his hand and Magnus covered the last bit of skin colored nail with navy. "Want me to add a top coat?" He asks, turning the hands slightly as he blows on them. 

"Nah, I think I'm alright. The smell of all this nail stuff is giving me a headache." Magnus smiles at that, and peers into Alec's bright blue eyes from where he's crouched down to help dry the fresh color. 

"You look gorgeous." The Shadowhunter's cheeks go pink at that, but he's silent as he continues to pointedly study his fingers. "Well, that was extremely fun. Want to watch a movie? I just upgraded my Netflix account, so now your cheap friends can mooch off my account too." Alec snorts, and lifts his rapidly drying hands up in the air, mutely asking Magnus to help him up. 

The warlock slips his palm underneath his lovers' and lifts him up, a small smile etched into his face.


	2. Jace

Jace had always been an early riser. 

When he was younger, he would often wake up before the sun rose and climb on top of the Institute to watch the sun rise, collecting his thoughts. 

The silence that always shadows dawn is familiar, and it leaves him free to take in the scene before him. Clary is sleeping soundly, breathing softly onto his bare chest. Her purple camisole has slipped off her shoulder, revealing a good part of her chest. Her hair is fanned out across the pillow, and in strands on her face that float up when she exhales. Her hand twitches from where it's resting on his stomach, and she shifts, her mouth slipping open a bit as she moves. 

He drinks her in, relishing in the way his fingers spark with nervous energy as he dances his long fingers along her arm, watching as goosebumps rise up on her pale skin. Small details like this remind him that she is alive, and she is his, and that what they have is all very real. He gently cups her face and ghosts a kiss across her lips, before pulling back every so slightly and begins to stroke his thumb across her face. 

It's moments like this that reminds him what he's fighting for, the reason why he wakes up every morning and finds the strength to continue moving. He's like the restless wind without her, like the angry wind with nothing in his way. 

Before he met her, he was wild. There was nothing grounding him, not really, and he had no problem running into problems head first because there was nothing to stop him. Alec was his parabatai, yes, but the more he tried to stop Jace, the more he fought back. He had that obnoxious and annoying older brother superiority, and that combined with his obsessive rule following made Jace want to stretch to see how much he could allow. 

Alec kept him sane, and was his brother in every sense of the word except for blood. He was cool headed and grounded, and always knew when something was too much. He watched over Jace as fiercely as the blonde watched over him, and he knew that Alec would always have his back, no matter what. 

Thinking about it, their unconditional love for each other was probably why Jace didn't heed Alec's word as he probably should. The idea that he would always be there gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted, because he knew that his parabatai was always going to come back. 

Clary was special like that. He knew she wasn't unconditional, and that she could live without him. She was the sunshine in his storm, and the force that pushed back with just as much power. She was tough, but equally as pliant, and where she was strong, she was also understanding. She knew exactly what to say to ease his mind, always knew exactly what to do and what was on his mind.

She was a challenge until she wasn't, until she gave herself to him completely and he knew that she was as much his as Clary Fray would ever be anybody's.  
She needed him as much as she relied on herself, and he knew that he was completely gone for her. 

"Mm," She groans and his thumb stroked her mouth. "Why are you up so early?" The question comes out slightly mumbled, and her eyes are barely cracked open. 

"I love you," He whispers hoarsely, and she smiles, before it slips from her face and she begins to snore.

Chuckling softly as to not disturb her, he leans down and presses his lips to her warm forehead, and lingers for a few sweet moments. And when he closes his eyes, he feels safe for the first time in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment i wanna know how shitty this was HA

**Author's Note:**

> Malec is the best bc they're somehow so different but they also complete each other so well 
> 
>  
> 
> comment something below, i know like three shadowhunter fans i need to talk to more people about why malec is great


End file.
